The avocados, a Synopsis of the genusPersea, subg.Persea

Abstract

The larger American genera of the Lauraceae are notoriously difficult taxonomically and Persea is no exception. Persea can be separated into two subgenera, subg. Persea and subg. Eriodaphne, and these are about as distinct as some of the genera in the Lauraceae. The type of the genus Persea is Persea americana Miller, Gardners Dictionary, ed. 8. 1768. Miller's rather full account indicates that he was discussing the ordinary "West Indian" avocado for he wrote: "The fruit is as large as one of the largest Pears, enclosing a seed with two lobes, included in a thin shell." The plant was said to grow in the "Spanish West-Indies, as also in the island of Jamaica, and has been transplanted into most of the English settlements in the WestIndies. . This plant with the pyriform fruits was the only one that Linnaeus knew and was included in the Species Plantarum 370. 1753, as Laurus Persea. The "West Indian" avocado was the first one known to Europeans although there is no record of the tree in the West Indies at the time of discovery. The name "West Indian" avocado or, in this century, "West Indian" race has been applied to this plantunfortunately. Since Persea americana Miller is the type of the genus it is also the type of the subgenus Persea. Miss Kopp in her "A taxonomic revision of the genus Persea in the western hemisphere," Mem. N.Y. Bot. Gard. 14:1117. 1966, apparently accepted Nees'Persae Propriae (Linnaea 8:49. 1833) as a basionym for the subgenus Persea. Since none of the species given by Nees is a synonym, or even a relative, of Persea amenicana and only one of them belongs in the genus Persea the basionym chosen by Miss Kopp is incorrect and does not agree with her correct statement